If you're an
Iron Man fan and a Hot Toys fan, then
you're getting hit hard by the numerous releases, no doubt about it. It
seems like they get bigger and more amazing with every announcement -
and more expensive as well. With items like the Suit
Up Gantry and Iron
Monger, your collection will be the envy of every friend, and
possible the basis for the divorce papers.

Before
those two big ticket items hit though, there's still a few other
'regular' releases to come. The latest is the Mark V, the suit that
starts out as a briefcase, but turns into a butt smacking armored
exterior.

Obviously, this suit is from Iron Man 2, when Whiplash
attacks at the races. This version comes with some additional battle
damaged parts, making him ideal to display with the earlier released
villain.

While not as expensive as something like the Iron
Monger, the price tag on the Mark V is still pretty steep, coming in at
around $200, depending on the retailer of course. He's currently in
stock at most retailers.

Packaging - ***1/2
For buyers of previous figures in the
series, the package holds little in the way of surprise. It's a simple
box, with colorful slip cover, and everything is packed inside in such
a way as to be easily removed and replaced later, if you find the need.
I call this 'collector friendly', and it's one of the nicest features
of Hot Toys packages.

It's not the only nice feature
though, and
the bright, well designed slip covers go a long way to selling the
product. The quality of the box is excellent, and that implies the
contents are quality as well.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This version of Iron Man does not come
with any sort of Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr. portrait, which makes it
a bit easier on the Hot Toys team.

The detailing on the armor is
extreme, with finest level of detail showing up on the various battle
damaged pieces, where wiring and circuitry show through.

Perhaps
even more impressive is how the sculpted armor is designed to work with
the underlying articulation. It could be very easy - and we've seen it
done by other companies - to simply say that the armor is too
restrictive, and that attempting to add any articulation is a losing
proposition. Instead, Hot Toys saw it as a challenge to produce a
sculpted costume that could move and flow with the joints in a
realistic and natural way.

I did dock the score a half star
however, and that's because he seems too skinny, considering that a
human needs to be inside all that plate and electronics. This is
particularly noticeable with the arms and legs, but still isn't a major
detraction from the overall impressiveness of the sculpt.

Paint - ****
This is Hot Toys we're talking about, remember? Outstanding paint ops
is their middle name, and when it comes to something like a metallic
suit, it's a cake walk for them.

The bright red is glossy and
smooth, while the slightly (but only slightly) more matte gray is an
excellent contrast.

The
damaged areas are extremely realistic, and allow for some finer detail
work to show through. Everything is consistent and clean, with no slop
or mess.

Articulation - ****
Every suited Iron Man figure is a work of amazing engineering, with far
more articulation built into this rather restrictive suit than you
could ever imagine. With the creative use of springs, joints, and the
suit design itself, they have been able to create a figure just as
articulated as any of the clothed figures.

Of
course, the ball jointed neck is one of my favorites, with a great
range of movement. But the rest of the figure is much more mobile and
posable than I can possible describe, and they've created additional
articulation in places like the shoulder, hand and foot armor to allow
these coverings to be less restrictive and move deftly out of the way.

One
of the coolest features of the articulation is the jointed fingers on
the main hands. Every finger (and thumb!) are jointed like the real
deal, allowing for a tremendous number of poses. The small joints are
also very tight, which means the fingers can be wrapped around
accessories and will hold tight.

It seems like with every Iron
Man release, the articulation improves, and this time around it seems
like the most improvement is in the waist and ab-crunch. The amount he
can twist, turn and bend is really quite amazing.

While the left
arm is removable, that doesn't mean it lost any of it's mobility or
joint strength. Both arms pop on and off smoothly, and have a full
range of movement.

Accessories - ***
Considering what we've seen with some past Iron Man figures - which
usually include some sort of additional portrait - this one feels a
little light.

He
does have a total of 6 hands - two fists, two battle damaged, and two
with clear palms and articulated fingers. These swap easily, and the
articulated fingers work amazing, as I mentioned in the previous
section.

To add to the battle damage
theme, there's a scarred
left arm, and two pieces of the ripped chest. These pop on and off
fairly well, although I did have some trouble getting the scarred
rectangular piece back off the chest once it was in place.

Also
included is a pair of hand cuffs and the MKV suit in it's 'briefcase'
form. This doesn't open at all, but it will look great with your Tony
Stark figure that you've put together with the extra heads from past
releases.

Finally, there are two stands -
the light up 'flying'
stand seen most recently with the Secret Project version, and the
standard black stand with the Mark V nameplate.

I'm pleased that
we got the briefcase, since I do have a Tony Stark packed away right
now that I can display it with eventually. But the rest of the
accessories seem a little light to me at close to a $200 price point.

Light Feature - ****
This
figure has four separate switches to light up the eyes, chest and each
hand independently. Each has a small piece of plastic
blocking
the batteries during shipment, and once this is removed the lights turn
on and off easily with the very small and very unobtrusive switches.

With
some past Iron Man figures (and even the light up Terminators), I've
had issues with the included batteries dying within just a few minutes.
This time I didn't have any dimming or drop off while I was shooting
the figure with the eyes, hands and chest lit, an improvement at least
for me.

While the small watch size
batteries are included for the
three key areas of the figure, the three AAA batteries for the stand
will be supplied by you. The stand lights up around the edge with the
flip of a switch.

There was more bleed this time
around at the
neck, but the joint is also less obstructed than on some past figures.
It's a trade off I'm happy to make.

The articulated and battle damaged hands
work with the wrist bulbs. The fists
do not have clear palms. Also, it's worth noting that the damaged arm
does light up, something I didn't notice first time around.

Fun Factor - ***
While this is not a figure for your average 10 year old, I did find
that even with the small parts and complex articulation, it was quite
sturdy and solid. You should have no trouble posing this guy just the
way you'd like, and with a little care nothing should break or snap.

Value - **
I love this figure - it's an engineering marvel. Still, at almost $200
it's one of the more expensive Hot Toys releases, and it is ANOTHER
Iron Man variation. While the separate switches for all four lights is
certainly expensive, and the figure is an all new suit design, it's
still a very high price tag.

Things to Watch Out For -
While
I didn't have any specific issues, remember that this is a highly
detailed figure with lots of small moving parts. Care should be taken
when swapping the arm, hands, damaged pieces, etc. I also
found
that the plastic barrier on the batteries for the eye lights was very
tough to remove without needle nose pliers, but yours may not be shoved
down in the neck quite as far.

Overall - ***1/2
Iron Man fans have been thrilled with this figure, and I suspect that
for many of them, he'll be the best of 2011. While I'm very happy with
him, he falls a little short for me considering the price point.

He
is a great addition to the display as the perfect companion to your
Whiplash figure from last year. The briefcase is a nice pick up too,
especially for those that have kit bashed their own Tony Stark.